Rail fare rises will be capped at 2 per cent above inflation from next year
rather than 5 per cent, ministers will announce today, in the first of a
series of weekly announcements intended to help with the cost of living.

The move comes as the Department for Transport publishes the conclusions of
its rail fares review, which is likely to result in the taxpayer, rather
than train operating companies, paying hundreds of millions of pounds more
to further subsidise the network.

However companies will still be allowed to increase fares on some routes by up
to 5 per cent